Local news – 233

Burwood Girls High School go to India

Students from Burwood Girls High School recently had the exciting opportunity to visit the I-India charity located in Rajasthan, India, which they have been supporting through school fundraising for years.

Rajasthan is a long way from Sydney and for a group of teenage girls from the Inner West, it must have seemed like the end of the world, but the trip offered the girls the opportunity to see firsthand who their donations were helping, get involved and get some perspective on their own lives. “It is one thing to hear about the street children and see on the website what I-India is doing to help them, but India is a place you have to see and experience for yourself and the girls really wanted to be part of it,” says Patrice Simpson, the School’s Head Teacher of Social Sciences (pictured above).

The group of mainly Year 11 students embarked on a 19-day journey which took in the sights of Delhi, Varanasi and Agra on the way to Rajasthan. They were able to visit Ladli Vocational Training Centres, Jhag Children’s Village, the Child Inn Boys Shelter and the Ganga Girls Shelter. “When I first saw the I-India street schools, I felt angry and upset for these children, but then I felt relieved that they had I-India to help them,” says 15-year-old Brooke. “It was incredible to see how fundraising for I-India makes such a difference in these children’s lives,” adds 16 year-old Georgia.

Balls of Glory calls for funding

World cup radio show Balls of Glory, hosted by soccer lovers Pete ‘The Black Swan’ Tselepi and Robbie Keswick, is turning to crowd funding to help get them to Brazil! The offbeat show started out covering the 2010 World Cup and gained quite the following so this year they are hoping to broadcast live from the event itself.

“We’ll be interviewing Brazilian soccer legends, local taxi drivers and fans from all around the world, streaming photos and videos. People will feel like they’re in Brazil with us,” says Pete. The pair don’t have much time to raise the funds with the Cup starting very soon but have been astonished by the generosity of supporters so far.